Happy Endings

Analysis

• What I got from this story was that no matter what, to get a happy ending you are going to have to go through some tough times. A is the happy ending, and after each of the other options A was the conclusing thing. The other stories all ending up being depressing, but no matter what a certain person had a happy ending. The characters battle many different situations, but they always end up with A. You have to go through pain in order to have happiness is what I think Atwood is trying to say in this story. I think she did it in a neat way of showing this. She also took a different approach with stereotyping the characters. She didn't follow the normal stereotypes of the genders. She adds a little twist to each little story.

Abtract

• The story begins off saying John and Mary meet. Then what? A begins off with a happy way of look at the marriage of John and Mary. They get married and have two kids and live happily ever after. B says Mary falls in love with John, but John only uses Mary for sex. They have the same routine everyday, and this makes Mary cry a lot. One day, John complains about the food, and this upsets Mary even more. She has never heard him complain about the food. Mary's friends tell her they have seen him with another woman named Marge at a resteraunt. It makes Mary more upset that they went out to eat because he never took her out to eat. Mary is so upset she ends up killing herself. John and Marge end up having the happy ending. C says John falls in love with a much younger Mary. She feels bad so Mary sleeps with John. She is in love with a guy named James. John is in love with Mary though, but he is also married to Madge. One day, Mary and James get high together and end up having sex. John walks in on them, and is heart broken. He ends up shooting James and Mary and himself. Madge marries Fred and they end up with the happy ending. D is when Fred and Madge are very happy, even though there is a huge tidal wave that knocks down house. They are still in love, and end up with the happy ending. E is when Fred ends up dying, so Madge devotes herself to charity until the end of A.